SO Festival 2014 Highlights
Faust - Southpaw Dance Company SO Festival 2014 SO Festival 2014 saw a 9 day festival that brought spectacular outdoor art to Lincolnshire and the Midlands. Our goal was to engage with and inspire people to participate in art. We aimed to connect with hard to reach groups and people from the least engaged places across the Midlands. Front cover shows Dennis Jobling as Mr Ebenezer Dandy
The festival brought together the very best of regional, national and international artists and organisations from a diverse range of art forms. Our mission for 2014 was to inspire and engage new audiences and have an economic benefit to the area. To do this we drew inspiration from the spaces, places and heritage of East Lindsey, building a theme of transport, journeys and travel, bringing a contemporary twist to the interpretation through largescale spectacles and intimate experiences. SO Festival 2014 saw a market town programme revive the centuries old tradition of travelling entertainment that would accompany markets and fairs across the towns and villages of the UK. The Travelling Show of Outrageous Novelty thrilled audiences all across East Lindsey. As well as the travelling show we brought Horncastle and Spilsby to life through lighting and illuminating landmarks and monuments across the towns. SO Festival 2014 s outdoor arts programme featured: New and site specific commissions A contemporary travelling show Evenings of lighting, illuminations and performances in Horncastle and Spilsby Music and dance A spectacular fire show Sprite Symphony - Davy & Kristin McGuire
Dive in Movie - Lines of Desire
SO Festival in numbers An audience of over 81,000 saw SO Festival events SO Festival visited 7 towns across East Lindsey SO Festival took place over 9 days SO Festival had over 40 companies showing work SO Festival presented over 190 shows SO Festival had over 25 partners to help deliver the festival There were 11 new commissions created specifically for SO Festival SO Festival had over 100 volunteers helping deliver the festival SO Festival had an economic impact of 671,964 Pyrophones - Mark Anderson
Shoal - And Now
Future Plans; What next? We remain passionate about improving the festival and what we offer. We have ambitious plans to fulfil and we want to have an impact on more people than ever before, regardless of their location, age or background. Future years will see exciting developments as SO Festival has recently been awarded the prestigious status as a National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) by Arts Council England which guarantees our funding for the next three years. The ability and freedom to plan two and three years in advance will enable even more challenging and exciting projects to be developed and delivered. We will also be refreshing our audience development and marketing plans to help improve how we spread the word and engage with our audiences. Magna Vitae From 1st January 2015, SO Festival will be organised by Magna Vitae. As a Charitable Trust our mission is to provide an extraordinary range of cultural, leisure and health related facilities and services that allow local people to lead a great life. Magna Vitae is a Partner to East Lindsey District Council which provides significant support for the work we do. Disco Donkey - Travelling Light Circus
Miss Gracie - Let s Circus
Cool, awesome, colourful, brilliant. An excellent event for all the family, for Skegness and the East Coast. 5 Stars. Art in our High Street! GREAT!! It was so good; I will come again more please. Wonderful, fantastic, amazing. It was so great, hope it comes back soon. Epic and incredible. Fantastic! Unusual, enchanting and magical. Professor Patrick P. Ending - Labyrinth Entertainment
The Insect Circus
How to support us Help us ensure we reach those least engaged in arts and culture across the region. Although we are one of Arts Council England s National Portfolio Organisations we still rely on significant extra investment to turn our ambitious plans in to a reality. Supporting SO Festival is a wise investment. Whether we are supporting disadvantaged young people to learn music producing skills or people with mental health issues to feel better about themselves through art, we change lives. Thanks to Arts Council England there s no better time to donate as your gift will be matched 0.50 for every 1 of support*. Supporting SO Festival will make innovative artistic, education and community programmes possible across East Lindsey and the Midlands creating once in a lifetime experiences. To find out more about how your investment would make a difference or to see our work in action please contact Matthew Archer, Senior Cultural Officer of Magna Vitae on 01507 613451 or email matthew.archer@mvtlc.org * Match funding available until June 2015. Afrikan Warriors - Let s Circus
Shoal - And Now
Partners and supporters Thank you to those we have worked with over the last year, without whom it would have been impossible to achieve our ambitions. Arts Council England BBC Radio Lincolnshire Celfone Trading Limited Centrica PLC Cupit Print Garsington Opera Hildreds Shopping Centre Horncastle Festival Committee Horncastle News Kind Thoughts, Spilsby Lincolnshire Cooperative Rase Veterinary surgery Skegness, East Coast and Wolds Hospitality Association Sir Joseph Banks Centre St Mary s Church, Horncastle St Jame s Church, Spilsby Travis Perkins The National Trust University of Lincoln Waterloo Housing Association Without Walls Associate Touring Network 12 Bridge Street, Horncastle Steve Cousins - Let s Circus
Fatt Matt - Let s Circus
5 5 5 A free 10 day festival of outdoor art Vats, Rats & Spats - Fi Henshall & David Hart
A brief history of the Festival East Lindsey District Council in partnership with Arts Council England (ACE), launched a summer festival in Skegness in 2009, called SO. The title SO comes from the famous 1908 John Hassall poster which features the town s Jolly Fisherman prancing along the beach with the slogan of Skegness is SO Bracing at the bottom and in this instance stands for Skegness Organises. With significant investment from East Lindsey District Council, support from Arts Council England and embracing the Cultural Olympiad the festival has grown from 3 days to 9 days and covers the whole district. SO Festival is now established as the regions leading cultural festival with audiences that want to see stunning performances.